Every war continues to dwell in the lives it touched, in the lives of those living through that time, and in those absorbed by its historical significance. Valor in Vietnam is an anecdotal history of America's war in Vietnam composed of firsthand narratives presented in chronological order. They are intense, emotional, and compelling. Connecting each chapter is a brief historical commentary of that period, the geography, and the strategy contributed by Lewis "Bob" Sorley '56, author of A Better War and Westmoreland.
LTG (Ret) Dave R. Palmer '56, who was Superintendent of West Point from 1986 to 1991, wrote the Foreword:
"Clark…selects 21 exemplars and describes in splendid prose the exploits of each. Those accounts…merge to paint a grand panorama of the legions of young men and women who answered the call to arms….Veterans…and, of course, their descendents...will want to have this volume in their libraries. It is their story."
West Pointers will find many fellow grads throughout the pages. Tony Nadal '58 describes an early Special Forces tour and returns as a company commander in LTC Hal Moore's Seventh Cavalry at LZ X-Ray; Joel Sugdinis '60 details the ambush of the Second Battalion Seventh Cavalry in the aftermath of X-Ray; Clark's classmate, Gary Coe, relates advisory duties in the Central Highlands; Ron Brown, DSC (1962) recounts his rescue mission of "Lonesome End," Bill Carpenter's company; Marsh Carter, NC (1962) chronicles a Marine raid on a suspected enemy camp. Other stories cover the original formation of MACV's Studies and Observation Group and its little-known connection to the Gulf of Tonkin; SSG Patrick Tadina, a Ranger's Ranger; the CIA's Operation Phoenix; an Army nurse at China Beach in Danang; culminating in a vivid description of the 1975 evacuation of Saigon.